THE GLOBAL BIOGEOGRAPHY OF ROOTS

Studies in global plant biogeography have almost exclusively analyzed relationships of abiotic and biotic factors with the distribution and structure of vegetation aboveground. The goal of this study was to extend such analyses to the belowground structure of vegetation by determining the biotic and abiotic factors that influence vertical root distributions in the soil, including soil, climate, and plant properties. The analysis used a database of vertical root profiles from the literature with 475 profiles from 209 geographic locations. Since most profiles were not sampled to the maximum rooting depth, several techniques were used to estimate the amount of roots at greater depths, to a maximum of 3 m in some…

• NS
  National Science Foundation
• AW
  Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
• NU
  Northwestern University
• UO
  University of California, Santa Barbara
• DO
  Division of Environmental Biology